Jackie Stewart is the executive editor of American Banker Magazine. Previously, she covered breaking news, community banks and mergers and acquisitions for American Banker before being named as the managing editor of the Credit Union Journal. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2006, Jackie taught for two years in the Bronx, N.Y., through Teach for America.
KeyCorp reported lower quarterly results that reflected higher expenses and lower fee income.
Acquirers are starting to look more closely at a sellers commitment to cybersecurity to avoid reputational and operational risk.
Chris Bauer, who navigated Anchor BanCorp through bankruptcy and an IPO, will stay with Old National in an unspecified role. Old National, meanwhile, has added Wisconsin to the list of states where it is looking for acquisitions.
Joseph Chillura, CEO of the $3.5 billion-asset USAmeriBank, runs a privately held company that should be an ideal candidate for industry consolidation. While trying to keep an open mind, Chillura seems intent on staying on the sidelines as other Florida banks strike deals.
Bank consolidation turned a corner last year as more large banks became comfortable returning to M&A. A panel of investment bankers believes that trend will continue in the coming year.
Capital Bank CEO Eugene Taylor took a three-year break from acquisitions until agreeing to buy CommunityOne earlier this year. Taylor hopes the deal provides evidence that his team is a buyer not a seller in the year ahead.
BofI Holding's CEO Greg Garrabrants should be basking in the glow of his bank's record earnings growth and its potentially transformative acquisition of H&R Block Bank. Instead, he's fighting to regain the confidence of shareholders spooked by allegations that the online bank violated anti-money-laundering laws.
Strong financials were an important consideration behind the $1 billion merger, but it often takes more than good numbers to compel Korean-American banks to merge. Hanmi Financial found that out the hard way after its unsolicited bid for BBCN largely fell on deaf ears.
Some of BBCN's directors actually favored a deal with Hanmi to cement its position as the nation's biggest Korean-American bank. That disclosure could spur Hanmi to make a direct appeal to BBCN's shareholders in coming months.
Banks face a growing risk of complacency given years of improved credit quality. They should periodically evaluate the status of loans and underlying collateral to make sure they proactively manage risk.